Photos © Dean Barnes
ST. THOMAS, USVI (November 15, 2009) - Light winds worked to the
benefit of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) member, Genny Tulloch
(San Francisco, Calif.), on the final day of US SAILING's 2009 U.S.
Women's Match Racing Championship (USWMRC), hosted by the St. Thomas
Yacht Club and sailed in Cowpet Bay. Tulloch was joined by crew Chafee
Emory (Newport, R.I.), Elizabeth Hall (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Elizabeth
Kratzig (Miami Beach, Fla.).
Tulloch upset fellow USSTAG
teammate, Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), and her crew of Molly
O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.),
and Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.) in the finals. Manard and Vandemoer
are both members of USSTAG. Team Tunnicliffe had dominated the first
three days of the championship, losing just one match.
Shifty
conditions and a breeze barely reaching six knots set the scene for the
final two matches of the semifinals and for the four match finals. In
the semifinals, Tunnicliffe, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the
Laser Radial, defeated Annie Gardner-Nelson (San Diego, Calif.) in
three matches. Tulloch bested USSTAG member, Katie Pilley-Lovell (New
Orleans, La.), in three matches to force a Tunnicliffe-Tulloch face off
in the finals. Team Tunnicliffe had gone 3-0 against Team Tulloch in
their first three round robin matches.
In the finals, Tulloch
won the first and third match. Tunnicliffe won the second match,
leaving her no choice but to win the fourth match in order to stay in
the game. In the fourth match, Tunnicliffe won the start, but lost
ground to Tulloch when the two split tacks and Tulloch got a brisker
breeze. Tulloch continued to lead in the match until reaching the
second rounding of the weather mark where she took a penalty after not
giving Tunnicliffe room. The two teams then sailed downwind towards the
finish changing leads a few times. Four to five boat lengths from the
finish, Tunnicliffe and Tulloch were one boat length apart when
Tunnicliffe jibed to port thinking she could cross Tulloch's bow, but
found she couldn't and picked up a penalty. They were only three boat
lengths from the finish and both teams were on a beam reach for the
finish. The two teams both jibed, and Tulloch came out of the jibe with
better boat speed and held it straight to the finish line.
"We
had a good time and a lot of fun," says Tulloch. "We're about 30 pounds
lighter than Anna's team and I think that helped us in the light winds
today."
The win for Tulloch is especially sweet after losing to
Tunnicliffe in the finals of last year's USWMRC. "It feels great to win
this championship," Tulloch says. "We enjoy racing in St. Thomas. The
conditions are great."
In the petit finals, Pilley-Lovell beat Annie Gardner-Nelson (San Diego, Calif.) to finish third.
The
2009 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship for the Allegra Knapp Mertz
Trophy, is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, Predict
Wind and Sail Proud. This event is part of US SAILING's National
Championship series.
For complete results, daily recaps, and photos please visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USWMRC.htm.
For more on the US SAILING National Championships, please visit http://championships.ussailing.org/.
- Race report content provided by Carol Bareuther of the St. Thomas Yacht Club.
